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DiEm25 Gent will have a second meeting on the 9th of June. The main topic will be the DiEM25 European campaign for transparency. How will we utilise this campaign in Gent? What actions will we organise in order to reach our goal? Here’s the link to the text of the official DiEM25 campaign:https://you.wemove.eu/campaigns/transparantie. The meeting will take place at

The Celtic Towers, Sint-Michielshelling 5-6, 9000 Gent and will start at 19.30.

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brussels, Europe open days, 28.05.2016,

DiEM25 joined the event of the European Resistance in Brussels. We were going to flyer in front of the European buildings and gather signatures for the DiEM25 transparency campaign. Because the EU had their annual “Europe day”. They opened their doors to the public, so families could continue to believe in the European fairy tale of a lawmaking European parliament. The EU expected 30.000 citizens who would visit the European buildings – one day for the citizens, 364 days for the lobbyists.

However, soon after our arrival we were heavily intimidated by the police. They would arrest us unless we would leave the area. They erected a fence and policemen guarded the fence, to make sure we would not be able to mix with other EU citizens or visit the buildings like all other citizens were allowed to do. By doing so, the police made us extremely important.

Members of the Stop-TTIP movement within our activists group, decided to turn the police fence into a TTIP-free zone and declared “our” side of the fence as the part where democracy was still alive. On the other side of the fence were the European buildings, where only EU approved stories were allowed. And we started to have our actions as planned.

In the afternoon we moved to the Mont des Arts in the centre of Brussels where we had a public assembly. Members of DiEM25 were among the speakers at the assembly, while other DiEM25 members gathered signatures and handed out leaflets.

On the 28th of May the European institutions open their doors to the public. Citizens, workers, students and the precarious will be able to experience the privilege enjoyed by the finance and industry lobbies all year long. For the rest of us, however, the doors of European politics remain firmly closed for the other 364 days.

Millions of people in Europe are witnessing how policies coming from « Brussels » are destroying whatever’s left of our basic rights and solidarity (with active collaboration of many local and national political leaders).

We reject these decisions coming from « Brussels » being taken in our name. From Brussels itself, our city, we want to help build the resistance to such a Europe and the world it represents. We believe that combined, our local resistances can serve as building blocks for a common alternative.

We refuse…

1. The imposition of austerity across the continent

As if it is the only political choice possible. But most of all it is a way to make those least responsible for the crisis pay for it. It is stealing from the poor to give to the rich and powerful, the banks and multinationals who continue to live the high life.

2. Laws and policies that protect major financial interests

While tax dodging scandals rain from the skies (SwissLeaks, LuxLeaks, Panama Papers), Europe responds by adopting the Trade Secrets directive to silence whistleblowers. We see a Europe that would rather leave in peace tax practices that suck billions out of the state coffers, billions that could be used to finance social policies for the common good (schools, healthcare, pensions or the ecological transition).

3. An trade policy that supports big agribusiness to the detriment of small farmers, food sovereignty and the planet.

The EU’s export-led agriculture policy supports agribusiness while destroying the very same small farmers who provide healthy food and local supply chains, protect landscapes, the environment and the climate. We’re seeing an opening of markets to GMO’s and other chemical products by negotiating free trade agreements like TTIP or CETA, which themselves would undermine any sensible policy to tackle climate change.

4. Violent and cynical migration and foreign policies

Unlike its citizens, EU leaders have proven incapable of taking action to welcome refugees fleeing from war and misery, instead engaging in a cynical horsetrade to keep them out of Europe, while using migration to increase pressure on wages and labour standards… The lofty liberal democratic values used to justify military interventions are quickly forgotten when it comes to erecting new frontiers and barbed wire.

By ignoring the aspirations of the peoples of Europe, these policies are destroying the very idea of Europe.

We will be present when the European institutions open their doors to the public on saturday the 28th of May to spread a very different message, the message of a Europe for and by its peoples, a social Europe, an ecological Europe and most of all, a Europe built on solidarity.

DIEM25 Belgium (1) supports the protests of Belgian trade unions and civil society against the austerity policies imposed by the European Institutions, and implemented by the Belgian government.

Since the adoption of the so-called Stability Treaty (2013), the European Institutions cynically regulate the budgetary policies and reform agendas of Member States. Massive popular protest movements against these policies face oppression with ever growing brutality.

The rippling effect of Brussel’s democracy-free zone spreads everywhere in Europe, from the Brexit debate to the streets on days like today. When the remedy prescribed to our ailing economies is further “economic integration” with “financial stability” as its excuse, while the money gained by austerity programs disappears in banks and financial investors, people suffering from these policies are rightfully outraged.

This is why we welcome the opposition of Belgian workers to this irrational and cynical policy, and stand with them in their struggle. The real remedy to our challenges is embracing European-wide solidarity for social justice and real democracy on a local, national and European level, allowing citizens to be respected and to flourish.

Stop austerity and debt related policies such as the flexwork “Law Peeters”, the “Index Jump” and the higher retirement age.

(1) DIEM25 Belgium is a branch of the European deep reform movement DiEM25 (Democracy in Europe Movement 2025) that aims to fundamentally democratise Europe. Learn more about us at http://www.diem25.org Join our movement that aims to bring concerned citizens together to save Europe from itself. Contact Erik Edman (erik-edman@outlook.com) or Karin Verelst (kverelst@vub.ac.be) to get engaged in our Belgian branch and sign the Manifesto and our transparency campaign on our website to become a member.

EN _ MAY, 28 :: OPEN DAY OF THE EUROPEAN INSTITUTIONS

On Saturday 28 May 2016, EU institutions open their doors to celebrate the Europe Day. Join the celebrations and learn more about the European Union.

Discover the regions and cities of Europe – events and activities for all ages!

– Visit the European Union’s Assembly of regional and local representatives, and learn about its role and activities (ground floor: stands of political groups; 5th floor: presentation of the Committee and stand).

– Experience Europe’s diversity: visit the interactive stands of partner regions and cities, and taste the variety of local products.

EN – DiEM25 Belgium held its second meeting last sunday (may the 15) in Brussels. Thank you to everyone for coming. For those of you that couldn’t make it, we will make the summary available soon. Meanwhile, join us next month for our next general assembly. Join DiEM25BE through Facebook, twitter and/or the following blog ; so you won’t miss upcoming events, meetings and actions (starting end of May). Thank you also to Darjeeling Schuman for providing the free venue (www.darjeeling.be)

These are exciting times for DiEM25! In the past two weeks, more than 50 DiEM25 local groups in 14 countries have had their initial, or second, or third in-person meetings. A few have even already organised local actions, for example the London DSC is now actively involved in the Brexit debate, the Cologne DSC successfully organised a Speakers’ Corner in a park by the Rhine, and the Paris DSC has been active at the recent “Nuit Debout” demonstrations. As part of our endeavours to restore democracy in the EU, DiEM25, of course, supports “Nuit Debout”, which is why Yanis Varoufakis visited the Place de la République this Saturday:

Occupations of squares, new labour regulations and secret agreements, Brexit, Europe’s deepening refugee crisis, all of these call for an even bigger engagement of DiEM25’s Spontaneous Collectives (DSCs) all around Europe.(…)

By the way, April 9th was DiEM25’s two-month birthday. Exciting, isn’t it? DiEM25 is already so much more than most organisations at this age!”

We’ve done it! This Saturday 16th April, generously hosted by Coworking Space in the ‘Galleries du Roi’ in Brussels (http://galeriescoworking.be), about 50 of us got together to put DiEM25Belgium/let’s democratise Europe! on the road.

The meeting brought together people with a fantastic range of profiles coming from the whole country. A Brussels peculiarity, perhaps: a large number of nationalities (European, but also from across the Atlantic) were represented. On the social and professional side CVs are equally extremely varied. And worthy of note: the presence of people involved with the EU institutions

Cosmopolitan, multicultural and with a European political presence: you see how the originality of DiEM25Belgium is already showing itself!

In the course of a three hour meeting many ideas were exchanged. Subjects and working groups are being set up right at the moment, thanks to among other things specific online communication tools, distinct from the DiEM25 forum. Decisions will only be made at meetings, but discussions and preparations of proposals will take place through the online tools.

The next meeting will be held in May to update discussion and take decisions in common on the projects that are up and running. Since the trans-Atlantic trade treaties and other decisions about refugees (from Libya this time) are threatening the Union again, the urgency in taking action was palpable all the way through the first meeting.

And a first event to put on the agenda: a special meeting at the beginning of June which should welcome Yanis Varoufakis.

Energy and enthusiasm when faced with the well-known challenges of our Europe, as it should be, over a good Belgian beer.

DiEM25Belgium: to join the movement, or simply to keep yourself in the loop, follow us on: